Light therapy system and methods of use

Abstract

In certain embodiments a light therapy system (e.g., phototherapy device), such as for treatment of Alzheimer's disease, depression, dementia, short-term memory, or for improved learning, improved athletic performance or improved cognitive performance, is provided where the light system comprises a blue light source that operates at a frequency in the range from 20 to 50 Hz (preferably around 40 Hz), whereby the system enables retinal ganglion cells of a human to be exposed in order to stimulate brain waves (gamma oscillations in the human's brain).

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A phototherapy device, said device comprising:
 a first light source that produces a light that comprises a first spectral composition comprising a blue spectral component and/or green spectral component wherein the light produced by said first light source is a blinking light; and 
 a second light source that produces a light that comprises a second spectral composition lacking a blue and/or green spectral component or where the blue and/or green spectral component produced by said second light source is smaller than the blue and/or green spectral component of the light produced by said first light source wherein the light produced by the second light source is a blinking light; 
 wherein the difference in intensity between said first light source and said second light source is less than about 100 lux, and the first spectral composition and the second spectral composition are selected so that the second light source produces illumination that combines with and supplements the illumination produced by the first light source so that so that the blinking of said first light and said second light is substantially undetectable by human vision even where the frequency of the blinking light/light component is below the flicker fusion threshold and where the color composition of the combined light is substantially constant; 
 said light produced by said first light source blinks at a frequency ranging from about 20 Hz up to about 60 Hz, and at an intensity and duration sufficient to mitigate a symptom, or slow or stop the progression of a neurodegenerative condition and/or to stimulate or to entrain gamma oscillations in a human's brain when the human is exposed to said first light source; and 
 said first light source and said second light source are both disposed in a common lamp or a luminaire. 
 
     
     
       2. A system comprising:
 a device of  claim 1 ; and 
 one or more of a personal health sensor(s) configured to be worn by a human, a personal environment sensor, a cell phone configured with an application to interface with said device, a computer configured with an application to interface with said device, and a tablet configured to interface with said device. 
 
     
     
       3. A method of treating a subject having a neurodegenerative condition selected from the group consisting of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease, said method comprising:
 using a device of  claim 1  to expose said subject to blinking blue light at a frequency ranging from about 20 Hz up to about 60 Hz, at an intensity and duration sufficient to mitigate a symptom, or slow or stop the progression of said neurodegenerative condition. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein said blue light comprises a blue light or a blue spectral component of a light in the wavelength range from about 440 nm up to about 495 nm. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the blue light or blue spectral component of a light has a maximum at about 460 nm. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 3 , wherein said method comprises:
 ameliorating one or more symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, and/or reversing Alzheimer's disease, and/or reducing the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease; or 
 preventing or delaying the onset of a pre-Alzheimer's condition and/or cognitive dysfunction, and/or ameliorating one or more symptoms of a pre-Alzheimer's condition and/or cognitive dysfunction, or preventing or delaying the progression of a pre-Alzheimer's condition or cognitive dysfunction to Alzheimer's disease; or 
 preventing or delaying the transition from a cognitively asymptomatic pre-Alzheimer's condition to a pre-Alzheimer's cognitive dysfunction; or 
 preventing or delaying the onset of a pre-Alzheimer's cognitive dysfunction, or ameliorating one or more symptoms of a pre-Alzheimer's cognitive dysfunction; or 
 preventing or delaying the progression of a pre-Alzheimer's cognitive dysfunction (e.g., MCI) to Alzheimer's disease. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 said subject exhibits biomarker positivity of AP in a clinically normal human subject age 50 or older; or 
 said subject exhibits asymptomatic cerebral amyloidosis; or 
 said subject exhibits cerebral amyloidosis in combination with downstream neurodegeneration; or 
 said subject exhibits cerebral amyloidosis in combination with downstream neurodegeneration and subtle cognitive/behavioral decline; or 
 said subject exhibits cerebral amyloidosis in combination with downstream neurodegeneration, wherein said downstream neurodegeneration is determined by one or more elevated markers of neuronal injury selected from the group consisting of tau, and FDG uptake and/or where said cerebral amyloidosis is determined by PET, or CSF analysis, and structural MRI (sMRI); or 
 said subject is a subject diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment; or 
 said subject shows a clinical dementia rating above zero and below about 1.5; or said 
 subject is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease; or 
 said subject has a familial risk for having Alzheimer's disease; or said subject has a familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) mutation; or 
 said subject has the APOE ε4 allele. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein:
 said method delays or prevents the progression of MCI to Alzheimer's disease; and/or 
 said method produces a reduction in the CSF of levels of one or more components selected from the group consisting of Aβ42, sAPPβ, total-Tau (tTau), phospho-Tau (pTau), APPneo, soluble Aβ40, pTau/Aβ42 ratio and tTau/Aβ42 ratio, and/or an increase in the CSF of levels of one or more components selected from the group consisting of Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, Aβ42/Aβ38 ratio, sAPPα, sAPPα/sAPPβ ratio, sAPPα/Aβ40 ratio, and sAPPα/Aβ42 ratio; and/or 
 said method produces a reduction of the plaque load in the brain of the subject; and/or 
 said method produces a reduction in the rate of plaque formation in the brain of the subject; and/or 
 said method produces an improvement in the cognitive abilities of the subject; and/or 
 said method produces an improvement in, a stabilization of, or a reduction in the rate of decline of the clinical dementia rating (CDR) of the subject; and/or 
 the subject is a human and said method produces a perceived improvement in quality of life by the human. 
 
     
     
       9. A method of treating depression, short-term memory loss, of improving memory, of improving cognition, of improving sleep, and/or of improving athletic performance in a subject, said method comprising:
 using a device of  claim 1  to illuminate the eyes of said subject and thereby expose said subject to blinking blue or green light at a frequency ranging from about 20 Hz up to about 60 Hz, at an intensity and duration sufficient to mitigate a symptom of depression, to improve short-term memory loss, to improve cognition, to improving sleep, and/or to improve athletic performance. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein said blue light comprises a blue light or a blue spectral component of a light in the wavelength range from about 440 nm up to about 495 nm. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the blue light or blue spectral component of a light has a maximum at about 460 nm. 
     
     
       12. A method of optimizing rehabilitation, recovery, physiotherapy, practice, training and/or performance at competition in a human, said method comprising:
 using a light therapy device of  claim 1  to illuminate the eyes of said human and thereby expose said human to a blinking blue light that blink at a frequency ranging from about 20 Hz to about 50 Hz. 
 
     
     
       13. The phototherapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the difference in color temperatures ΔT between the first light source and the second light source is about 50K or less. 
     
     
       14. The phototherapy device of  claim 1 , wherein the distance to the black-body locus D uv  is less than about 0.01. 
     
     
       15. The phototherapy device of  claim 13 , wherein the distance to the black-body locus D uv  is less than about 0.01. 
     
     
       16. The phototherapy device of  claim 1 , wherein said blue light comprises a blue light or a blue spectral component of a light in the wavelength range from about 440 nm up to about 495 nm. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the blue light or blue spectral component of a light has a maximum at about 450 nm up to about 460 nm about. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the blue light or blue spectral component of a light has a maximum at about 450 nm up to about 460 nm.